Proposal
PROPOSED TITLE:
THE BUSINESS PLACEMENT STUDENT: A DYING BREED? A CASE STUDY AT xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx UNIVERSITY
TITLE
The Business Placement Student: A Dying Breed? A Case Study xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx University
INTRODUCTION
Work-based learning at higher education level has long been a feature of UK higher education; for example, in the 1950s, the National Council for Technological Awards advocated that undergraduate programmes in engineering and technology should incorporate planned periods of industrial placement. The emphasis on vocationalism in the Robbins Report (Robbins, 1963) led to the development of polytechnics in the 1960s and in subsequent years work-based placements have been introduced into a wide variety of undergraduate programmes. The most common of these is the 12 month work placement undertaken between level 5 and level 6 of an undergraduate programme. This is commonly referred to as a “sandwich year”. It is this type of work placement that is undertaken by students on the BA Business undergraduate portfolio at xxxxxxxxx University. This encompasses students on the BA Business Studies, BA Business and Finance, BA Accounting and other named awards.
Proponents of such sandwich degree programmes argue that a variety of benefits can accrue from the student’s placement year (Richardson and Blakeney, 1998; Glen, 2006). These benefits may vest themselves in either the student or the employer’s organisation. For instance a student returning from a placement year is often felt to have a more mature outlook to work and also a better perspective of their course and how academic theories relate to the business world (Richardson and Blakeney, 1998). Also it has been argued that a students reflective ability and ability of analytical and critical thinking is improved by a years work placement (Lucas and Tan, 2007). Work experience, in addition, can enhance a range of personal attributes such as time-management, self-confidence and adaptability. It
THE BUSINESS PLACEMENT STUDENT: A DYING BREED? A CASE STUDY AT xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx UNIVERSITY
TITLE
The Business Placement Student: A Dying Breed? A Case Study xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx University
INTRODUCTION
Work-based learning at higher education level has long been a feature of UK higher education; for example, in the 1950s, the National Council for Technological Awards advocated that undergraduate programmes in engineering and technology should incorporate planned periods of industrial placement. The emphasis on vocationalism in the Robbins Report (Robbins, 1963) led to the development of polytechnics in the 1960s and in subsequent years work-based placements have been introduced into a wide variety of undergraduate programmes. The most common of these is the 12 month work placement undertaken between level 5 and level 6 of an undergraduate programme. This is commonly referred to as a “sandwich year”. It is this type of work placement that is undertaken by students on the BA Business undergraduate portfolio at xxxxxxxxx University. This encompasses students on the BA Business Studies, BA Business and Finance, BA Accounting and other named awards.
Proponents of such sandwich degree programmes argue that a variety of benefits can accrue from the student’s placement year (Richardson and Blakeney, 1998; Glen, 2006). These benefits may vest themselves in either the student or the employer’s organisation. For instance a student returning from a placement year is often felt to have a more mature outlook to work and also a better perspective of their course and how academic theories relate to the business world (Richardson and Blakeney, 1998). Also it has been argued that a students reflective ability and ability of analytical and critical thinking is improved by a years work placement (Lucas and Tan, 2007). Work experience, in addition, can enhance a range of personal attributes such as time-management, self-confidence and adaptability. It
References: Glen A (2006) Why graduates should learn from experience, Estates Gazette 614 pp138-139 HESA (2009) http://www.hesa.ac.uk (accessed 4th February 2009) Love, N. and Fry, N. (2006) Accounting students’ perceptions of a virtual learning environment: springboard or safety net?, Accounting Education: an international journal, 15(2) pp 151-166 Lucas, U Mandilaras, A. (2004) Industrial placement and degree performance: evidence from a British higher institution, International review of Economics Education 3(1) pp 39-51 Marton, F Marton, F. (1986). Phenomenography - A research approach investigating different understandings of reality. Journal of Thought, 21(2), 28-49. Marton, F., and Booth, S. (1997). Learning and Awareness. New Jersey: Lawerence Erlbaum Associates. Mendez, R. (2008) The correlation between industrial placements and final degree results: a study of engineering placement students. Paper presented at ASET conference, Plymouth, UK 2008 Morgan, D.L Richardson, S. and Blakeney, C. (1998) The undergraduate placement system: an empirical study, Accounting Education, 7(2) pp 101-121 Sekaran, U Smith, M. (2007), Research Methods in Accounting, Sage Publications, London Surridge, I.(2008), Accounting and finance degrees: is the academic performance of placement students better? Accounting Education: an international journal, (forthcoming) University of Newcastle Upon Tyne (2004), Supporting placement learning through a Virtual Learning Environment, http://asetonline.org/PDFs/VirtualLearningEnvironment-NewcastleUni1.pdf (accessed 16th February 2009) Wilson, J